Accuity acquires Safe Banking Systems (SBS)

New York–12 July 2018

SBS is a specialist provider of innovative Know Your Customer due diligence and anti-money laundering solutions that enable financial institutions to identify, assess and manage risk across the enterprise. SBS’s solutions perform advanced false positive reduction and risk assessment in the account screening process across a number of sectors, including high volume banks and non-bank financial institutions, bringing greater intelligence for entity resolution to clients worldwide.

Accuity, part of RELX Group, is a leading provider of innovative solutions for payments and compliance professionals, offering comprehensive data and software that manage risk and compliance, and flexible tools that optimise payments pathways through its Fircosoft, Bankers Almanac and NRS brands.

SBS is already a long-standing partner of Accuity’s Fircosoft business, leveraging the Fircosoft filter in its solutions. Accuity and SBS share many mutual customers, which benefit from their complementary offerings. This acquisition will allow Accuity to strengthen these benefits to clients as they face an evolving, complex and costly regulatory environment, providing Accuity with an enhanced and leading account screening solution, and complementing its transaction and trade screening offerings.

Hugh M. Jones IV, Accuity President & CEO, said: “SBS has an impressive track record of delivering award-winning technology and deep subject matter expertise, enabling clients to truly take a risk-based approach that advances the field far beyond traditional matching technologies. The business shares Accuity’s ambition to be a trusted partner to clients, protecting their reputations and transforming the way they manage risk. We look forward to welcoming the SBS team and collaborating to strengthen our Fircosoft solutions.”

David Schiffer, CEO, Safe Banking Systems, said: “Accuity is the natural home for SBS and affords us the opportunity to build on our existing partnership and success to date, grow our investments in our business, and expand globally. Bringing our expertise and teams together will enable us to accelerate the development of innovative approaches to managing risk through advanced entity resolution and reducing false positives.”

SBS has approximately 50 employees and is based in Mineola, New York.

Evercore served as financial advisor to SBS and Lowenstein Sander LLP served as legal counsel to SBS.

Accuity offers a suite of innovative solutions for payments and compliance professionals, from comprehensive data and software that manage risk and compliance, to flexible tools that optimize payments pathways. With deep expertise and industry-leading data-enabled solutions from the Fircosoft, Bankers Almanac and NRS brands, our portfolio delivers protection for individual and organizational reputations.

Part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries, Accuity has been delivering solutions to banks and businesses worldwide for 180 years.

RELX Group is a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom almost half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company, which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company, which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. [The total market capitalisation is approximately £32bn/€36bn/$43bn].